Some occupations require strenuous physical movements: lifting, pushing, pulling, and reaching. If you work in construction, manufacturing, or landscaping, exertion may simply be part of your job. In other occupations that require only some physical movements, workers may overexert themselves to get ahead or move up.

While many employees strive to be safe at work, little consideration is often given to their physical well-being. In fact, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), overexertion is responsible for 35 percent of all work-related injuries and the culprit behind the majority of workers’ compensation claims.

Large companies are few and far between in the construction industry. According to a quarterly report released by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), who collect data based on the fatality rates among construction companies, around 82 of these types of businesses in 2016 were composed of fewer than 10 employees.

Unlike larger establishments, smaller construction companies may be more likely to lack adequate oversight, ignore certain safety procedures, and cut corners to save time and money.

Sometimes you try to ignore it. Tough it out. Play through it. Take an extra aspirin or pain killer. But sometimes, muscle pain just won’t go away and eventually overwhelms you. You can feel the pain in your lower back when you remember the patient you lifted as part of your job. Or when you swung a hammer that afternoon and felt a radiating pain by closing time. Now, it’s the next day. Or the day after. And the pain’s still there. The pain’s still real. And it won’t go away.

Most of us first hear about rotator cuff tears when our favorite pitcher is put on the disabled list for the rest of the season. We know the injury is a shoulder issue, but we often aren’t sure of the details. At Schweickert & Ganassin LLP, our workers’ compensation attorneys know the effect these injuries can have on workers. 

It’s often not until we ourselves suffer the injury that we learn a rotator cuff is a cluster of muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint that keeps the top part of the arm bone tucked firmly within the socket of the shoulder.

Any building boom, like the one Northern Illinois currently is experiencing, can lead to a shortage of skilled construction workers – which in turn can often lead to more construction accidents.

Slip and fall accidents at work happen far too frequently. In fact, they are the third-leading cause of unintentional death in the nation.

Despite the frequency of slip and falls at work, safety audits by companies generally have not focused on floor safety. But this is beginning to change. In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised a walking-working surface regulation. Employers now must inspect all working surfaces “regularly and as necessary,” according to the new rules.    

On the heels of the new OSHA regulation, EHS Today recently published a list of helpful tips for employers to keep their facilities safe for workers. Slip and fall accidents are common and costly, which is why companies should heed the advice of EHS Today. 

Returning to the workplace after a back injury is a dangerous venture. During recovery, workers are more likely to injure themselves again or make the original injury worse. As such, it is vitally important that workers avoid returning too early and know how to perform their duties safely once they can do so.

This is especially true of back injuries because so much of what we do on the job is grounded on the health of our back.

The big question, then, is what steps employers can take to identify and address hazards on walking and working surfaces. It is important for employers to know their options to keep employees safe.

Mobile technology has become the norm in our daily lives. Hands-free systems that enable us to speak to our cars, wireless headsets for our phones, and even apps that allow us to control the lights and thermostats in our homes while away have all helped to make our lives more connected.

The pressing question, however, is whether we can use the same technology to monitor worker health and safety that we use to check on the content of our fridges. As it turns out, there are a number of companies doing exactly that, especially for employees who operate away from their employers.

The opioid epidemic tearing through our nation is damaging families and communities and costing governments billions of dollars. Many approaches are being sought to curb the epidemic and recoup expenses spent on treating it. Last month, for instance, eleven cities and towns filed a lawsuit in Cook County, Illinois against both pharmaceutical companies and three specific doctors alleged to have helped cause and spread the epidemic.

One recent study, however, has turned its attention to the way workers’ compensation is impacted by the prescription of opioids, and the data is not kind to the drugs.